Gianvito Rossi black lace and suede pumps, $839

As beautiful as these shoes are – and they ARE beautiful, don’t you think? – I probably wouldn’t have discovered them if it hadn’t been for the dress I’m about to show you to wear with them. It’s the sad fate of black pumps to mostly be purchased in order to allow some other item to shine, which is a shame, really, because some pairs of black pumps are definitely awesome enough to deserve to be the star of the show all by themselves.

These shoes are definitely in that “star of the show” category. Far from your usual black pumps, these have a lace upper, a suede trim, and a sweetheart vamp, all of which adds up to the type of shoe that could provide a stunning focal point for an evening outfit.

Not today, though.

No, today these shoes are playing second fiddle – only just, though – to this amazing dress:

What to wear with black lace high heel court shoes:

dress // clutch // earrings // bracelet // eyeliner // false eyelashes // lipstick 

Although many of my outfits are created from the bottom up (i.e. the clothes are chosen to go with the shoes, rather than vice versa), sometimes the opposite is true, as in this case. This dress is by Dolce & Gabbana, and you can probably tell just by looking at it that it’s so expensive that “looking at it” is all most of us will ever do. In the alternative universe which exists inside my head, however, and in which I have not just the means to buy a dress like this, but also the occasion to wear it, I think the black lace shoes would be the perfect choice for it – beautiful enough to compliment the dress, but subtle enough not to overpower it.